Identity and SSO
Self-hosted alternatives to Okta Workforce Identity, priced
2 open-source tools that can replace Okta Workforce Identity, each shown with what it would actually cost to run for a team of 10 people. Okta Workforce Identity on the Starter tier costs $125 a month at that size.
| Tool | Server only | With your time | vs Okta Workforce Identity | Operational weight | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keycloak | $26.40 | $139 | -$950 | medium | Apache-2.0 |
| authentik | $26.40 | $139 | -$950 | medium | source-available |
The final column is the 36-month difference: positive means self-hosting is cheaper.
Which one to pick
Keycloak 36,732 stars
JVM service with PostgreSQL. Memory is dominated by the heap rather than by user count, so cost per user falls steeply as the directory grows. This is the CNCF-backed incumbent.
At 10 people it needs 2.5 GB of memory and 10.1 GB of disk, which fits the Starter 4 GB at VPSServer for $22.00 a month. Setting it up is roughly 6 hours of work, then 1.5 hours a month to keep it healthy.
Full Okta Workforce Identity versus Keycloak breakdown · Keycloak at every team size
authentik 25,446 stars
Server plus worker, PostgreSQL and Redis. Friendlier than Keycloak for proxy-style protection of apps that have no native SSO support.
At 10 people it needs 2.5 GB of memory and 10.1 GB of disk, which fits the Starter 4 GB at VPSServer for $22.00 a month. Setting it up is roughly 6 hours of work, then 1.5 hours a month to keep it healthy.
Full Okta Workforce Identity versus authentik breakdown · authentik at every team size
How the pricing was established
Okta Workforce Identity pricing was read from its own pricing page on 2026-09-14. Server prices come from the providers listed on the hosting page. The sizing model and the cost of your time are set out in full on the methodology page.